ACL recovery and rehab. 1 year Diary.

Below are the diary entries I made while documenting my recovery and return to skiing after my ACL operation 1 year ago. Immediately after the accident I struggled to find accurate information on the likely time line for the rehab, and when I could expect to be skiing once I'd had the ACL reconstruction.

Hopefully this will help those in a similar situation.



I owe huge thanks to my surgeon, Mr Crichlow and the staff at the Princess Royal Hospital, Telford and The Nuffield in Shrewsbury. My operation was via the NHS and the whole process was quick and the outcome as good as I could have wished for. Thanks also to Mr Moreau for his help on the initial consultation.

Huge thanks also to my physio's, Philip Newton and Sue MacLauchlan from Lilleshall Sports Injury Rehab with who's help I was able return to skiing quicker than would otherwise have been the case. They did a fantastic job and I'd recommend them to any one returning to sport after an ACL reconstruction.




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The accident was on the 21st March 2012 in Serre Chevalier, skiing off piste in a gully. The French doctor confirmed a suspected ACL after an X-Ray and some hands on checking. The insurance company insisted I returned home with on my scheduled flight.

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UPDATE: 25th March

After some deliberation I decided to drop in to A&E on the Saturday evening I landed back in the UK. After a chat to the triage nurse who consulted with the on duty doctor, they sent be away but not before booking into the fracture clinic on Monday morning. At this point it looks like a good call and has saved a few days over seeing a GP.

I've been busy with the small exercises suggested by my private physio and all feels pretty good, and the rage of movement seems encouraging. For reference I've also taken a note of my current thigh diameter and my weight.

Much laughter from the nurse when she spotted the bill from the French pharmacy.


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UPDATE: 26th March

I attended the fracture clinic at the local NHS hospital this morning. It really could not have gone better. The consultant checked the knee and made positive comments regarding the stability. I also managed to score an MRI as someone had cancelled that morning.

The knee specialist is in later this week and they are both going to check the scans and decide on the treatment from there. He did suggest that depending on the scans that the knee surgeon may be keen to do it sooner rather than later, perhaps in the next couple of weeks.

I've had the 'OK' to try and work the leg, so will try and keep the muscle tone. Surprising how much has gone already.

Fingers crossed on the MRI results now.

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UPDATE - Day of ACL reconstruction operation, 4th May 2012

I'm back at home now lying on the sofa with a bag of peas on my knee, having gone into surgery at about 11am. When I woke up I think it was 1.30ish. Initially there was not much discomfort but as the afternoon has wore on it's become more painful, along with increasing swelling and reducing mobility. Extension seems good, it's the flex. Still everyone seems pleased with the way it had gone and my questions about the rehab and tell me they expect a good outcome Fingers crossed !!

Interestingly the pain is at the 'harvest' sites rather than the knee. (I had the hamstring ACL op.)

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UPDATE: Week 1, post op.

In the end I had a straight ACL reconstruction, and the surgeon reported no damage to the meniscus etc. The first day was pretty uncomfortable, mostly due to the amount of swelling. It's hard to move your leg with what must have been a 1/2 litre of fluid transforming it into a football !

However, a week in the swelling is much reduced and muscle tone is visible when I tense my quads. I'm happily walking up stairs on the 'bad' leg and have ditched crutches except for first thing in the morning. I'm able to walk 50m or so to garden pond and back again, but I'm not sure of I would like to do much more than that for now. According to the physio's protractor I've 95^ of flex. She also 'suggested' not to be using the bad leg on the stairs - at least if we are going to follow the surgeons rehab protocol.

My approach in the 1st week has been -
Ice (Frozen Pea's, asda 2kg packs seem best) 20 mins per hour.
Leg elevated on the sofa & on pillows at night.
Minimal walking
Using my trips up the stairs as an opportunity to try and lift\flex the bad leg (after day 3 or 4).

I've kept off my feet as much as possible, and focused on trying to keep the blood moving (Ankle flexing\pumping) and getting\keeping full extension, so Quad tensing while trying to flatten leg. In terms of regaining flex, I've tended to build it into everyday activities, using gravity to help it flex getting out of bed in the early days, and thinking about how my feet are positioned when sitting down so that I can gently increase the flex.

I've just chased the follow up appointment with the surgeon as it hadn't come through and that's scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.

Other than that the next objective is to get to the shops to stock on on Ibuprofen and Paracetamol as my prescription is about to run out. The buying restrictions are going to be a pain !!

Overall so far so good and each day has seen improvement.

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2 Week Update:

2 weeks in and all would seem to be going OK. Swelling is much reduced and most evident above the knee when standing. I'm mostly off the paracetamol except for a couple before bed, but am continuing with the ibuprofen in the hope it will help with the last of the swelling. The actual prescription pills ran out after about a week. Still uncomfortable at night (although not painful) so tending to wake up early morning. The actual joint feels pretty good, twinges tend to be from the soft tissue around it and the hamstring area.

In terms of activity, I'm happy to walk up \ down stairs and have not used the crutch in a few days. Walking is OK, but I've probably not managed more than about 500 meters in one go. My gait feels a but odd, slightly stiff and heavy. Walking the dog yesterday evening became painful although that was after a more active day so I headed home a lot sooner than I planned. However I did make it to the pub later on. Proprioception seems OK, probably as a result of the work I did pre-op.

Flex is improving and I can fold myself into my car. Driving is fine and have practiced a couple of emergency stops to be absolutely sure. The op notes were quite clear in specifying 2 weeks.

My lower leg \ shin is pretty sore and has some numbness on the skin and is hot to touch and colors up red. I had my 2 week follow up with the surgeon on Wednesday and he was very happy with my progress and thought the lower leg would improve with time. Next follow up in a month.

I'm weaning myself off the regular 20 mins of ice per hour and trying to get more active now the swelling is reduced. Muscle loss is visible on the operated thigh so I'm keen to get working to address that. Next NHS physio is on Wednesday and I'm planning to have a session with my private physio for a second view.

All in all very different to the first few days. My next 'real life' target is to build up to walking a reasonable distance with the dog around the village.

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Update - 5 weeks

Two weeks on and the knee feels 'lighter' allowing a more normal gait and is now comfortable at night. It's sore at times, sometimes at side, sometimes to front when under load and in hamstring area in recent days although I've now stopped the pain killers. I saw my NHS physio on Wednesday who was happy for me to move on to the next page of drills and OK'd walking. She didn't have a view as to an appropriate amount so I'm building back up and doing maybe 30 mins with a view to working up to an hour.

Interestingly the new exercises seem to include more rapid ballistic(?) leg movements (Flicks & Catches) plus 'light' jogging which is bit daunting. I think I'll be building up on those carefully but having tried a little it's not so bad. I guess the problem is it's easy to get into a slow mode of movement which becomes habituated.

The follow up NHS treatment is odd. My physio didn't recognise some of the exercises noted on the rehab sheet so we googled them on the day. She's never received a copy of the surgery notes or rehab protocol except the copies I acquired. The surgeon asked me back in 4 weeks but no appointment has come through as yet so I'll be chasing them on Monday. It's not a problem for me, but if you were the type to let things slide I'm not sure the outcome would be as good as it could.

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Update - 6 weeks.

Jogging isn't going so well ! I went to the NHS physio yesterday and suggested that jogging was tricky and she looked surprised and suggested that it's not in the protocol.
After pointing it out to her she shrugged muttered about impact & flat ground and we never really decided on how to resolve it.

The crux is I'm suffering some pain to the front of the kneecap. Again she's not worried about it but walking in town at lunchtime it was a little sore, which is unusual. I'm hoping it will settle down as different types of discomfort come and go.

I'll probably book up with my sports physio week after next and see what she has to say. Last time she was focused on reducing the swelling but I still have some. Next Friday is the 8 week point and the next page on the Rehab protocol, which includes such delights as hopping, Running, 'Cutting'?. Plyometrics(?) and Ballistics?

The good news is I'm regaining muscle bulk and at the present rate should be back to pre injury size in just a few weeks. (edit - ha ha ha !)

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UPDATE - Week 8

The knee & leg feels noticeably stronger week by week, although on odd days it feels like I've taken a backwards step.

I'm comfortably walking up to an hour at a time although when standing a lot at the weekends the knee can become heavy with increased swelling. I'm still icing a couple of times a day when I remember along with stretches and mobilising the kneecap.

I'm still getting some discomfort at the front of the knee when under load but it's possible to work through it. The physio today thinks it will improve as I rebuild muscle. I'm tending to do less specific 'rehab' exercises at the weekend, choosing more 'real world' standing, walking & gardening.

I'm just back from the PFA Rehab centre at Lilleshall and my physo there is happy with the progress - at least she didn't tell me off this time ! Last time she was concerned with the swelling and the amount of walking I was doing. The plan for the next few weeks is more of the same rehab protocol exercises but building more reps for each exercise, and more often.

My confidence in an earlier post about rebuilding muscle bulk seems a little misplaced as there has been no change in the last 2 weeks, but I hope to change that with more reps and work this week. It's been suggested that I join the footy players in their rehab sessions at some point in the next few weeks and I may even join a gym.

As long as I don't have to move to quickly the leg feels not much different than before, and I seem to have as much 'active' flex as the good leg - however I can't yet sit on my heals. However it would be a different story if I had to run, hop, jump or make sudden movements on it.

Still not allowed any walking in the hills but I think 2 or 3 weeks should see me there. I'm toying with some simple climbing (avoiding the 'bad' leg) at the week 12 stage just to get some upper body exercise. I'm confident I can protect it now, but we'll see how it feels.

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UPDATE - Week 12

Half way there (ish) and the last 4 weeks have been a nice step forward.

Surprisingly (and disappointingly) my NHS physio has pretty much discharged me while on the other hand I've started a 'strength' program with my 'broken footballers' sports physio. These exercises hurt (!), the worse being standing from a chair on 1 leg but after a week or so the exercises are easier and I've gained a little muscle bulk on the bad leg. I'm trying to keep to one drill every 30 minutes. The new exercises can make the knee feel heavy and sore but generally the swelling is mostly constant and isn't too aggravated by exercise. I'm still icing when I remember, generally after walking.

I had the OK to walk our local hill as long as I didn't 'yomp' it. It's 250m vertical over about 1.2 miles on a rough road\track and makes for an excellent place to train. Stupidly I forgot my sticks for the walk down, but even without them and going slowly it felt ok, and an improvement on the first time back on the hill a few days before. I'll try and do this a couple of times a week, time allowing.

The second highlight was getting back on my motorbike. It's a small super sports 250 which means that you have to ride it to get the best from it. I still don't quite have enough flexion to move around as freely as I need but it was nice to get out and the leg felt better than it did pre op.

Both physio's have spoken positively about skiing at the 6 - 7 month mark with puts me in the frame for a early season week in Tignes. I think a trip to Manchester before hand, say September time should be cool.

I'm not running, hopping, skipping or climbing yet but I'd say that the knee is now better that it was immediately pre op. I guess it's now a case of diminishing returns, but easy skiing again in the next few months feels a realistic goal.

The real trick I think will be to manage my return to rock climbing.

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Update - Week 17

Since the last update it's been a case of 'steady as you go'.

At the 14 weeks I had another appointment with the 'broken footballers' physio where they measured the relative strength between the legs. The good news was the hamstrings were within a few percent, however the quads were about 35% down. Another set of rehab drills resulted focused on addressing that. All in all the physio seemed pleased and thought that it was about normal.

August being holiday season means that rehab exercises haven't always been front of mind but my hols did give a chance to do some more walking and indulge in a little 'rock hopping' at the coast. One thing that became apparent is that my calf isn't as strong as it was but over all I'm getting some confidence back in the knee.

Highlights have included a 5 mile coastal path walk, more motorbikes and return to indoor gentle indoor climbing. I'm walking my local 'hill' a couple of times a week and as of last week I'm about 10% down on the time I would have expected before the accident, although that was the first attempt at a time.

The knee\shin area is sore although it doesn't seem related to specific activities. Arguably at it's worse when on holiday! That said it feels that I'm working it quite hard with the drills and walking and at the end of each day I can feel it. There's little noticeable swelling, and again that doesn't seem to be affected by activity but I am still icing from time to time.

The only real 'iffy' moment during the last few weeks was a sideways feeling from the knee while on an uneven beach but there was no discomfort and it seems to have held together. Climbing was a difficult as it is very hard to know what's appropriate, so caution is the order of the day.

I still need a bit more flex as highlighted by the last ride on the bike. Although it was improved since last time I couldn't move around as much as I'd need to be fast.

The next few weeks should be interesting. I've an appointment with the surgeon, the possibility of a ski at a 'dome and another strength test and physio session - all within a week of each other. Fingers crossed.

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Update. Week 20.

This seem a good time to post an update. Since the the last one a few I've seen the surgeon, received yet another set of physio drills and did I mention that I went skiing

The good:

I went Skiing at Manchester, I'm climbing a bit harder, I have a pleased surgeon who said 'do stuff, but not too much all at once' and last night I posted a fast time up my local training hill. I'm only getting minor, 'puffy' swelling if any.

The not quite so good:

It's still sore at times & hanging around in a fridge for 6 hours doesn't help. I'm still a weakling when it comes to quad strength.


The important points are probably the skiing and strength. Skiing at 20 weeks post op will not be for everyone. I ski to a high standard (Coach & Instructor) but was very careful. As it happens my first session was shadowing an Instructor refresher course which meant that I was able to recap from straight running, through ploughing to easy parallel. That very easy progression worked very well and seems a good, safe way to get back to it. Skiing later in the day the knee felt strong with no twinges or issues. My main focus was to avoid being wiped out by some errant slope user.

With successful skiing under my belt I was looking forward to seeing my physio to hear his view on how things are going. He put me on the strength testing machine and the results were 'interesting' ! While my hamstrings are now stronger than my 'good' leg, but my Quads have only reduced their deficiency from 35% to 30%

However the physio seems to think that if I put the work in we can get that down to 10% and skiing in the Alps is still a reasonable goal for early December. However it goes to show that despite it all feeling 'OK' in a dome and at home there is still a big deficiency to be corrected.

In the mean time it's going to be a case of more strength work on the quads with a progression towards more dynamic stuff (running \ jumping etc.) I've a pass to ski on our plastic slope but physio's main concern is the risk of collision. I'm allowed to climb harder which should also help with all round strength.

Next stop the Alps, fingers crossed.

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Update - Week 25:

Just back from the physio. The strength machine reports that both legs are now roughly the same, with the hamstrings a bit stronger than the quads. The 'good' leg is a bit weaker than on the original test and as quads are usually stronger than the Hamstrings I'll need to continue the strength work for a few weeks yet. The good news is that since the last visit (about 5 weeks ago) I've managed a 35% improvement in strength on the 'bad' leg. The new physio regime now includes a lot of agility drills plus a continuation with the strength work so it's not over yet.

From a practical point of view I'm comfortable skiing on plastic but teaching beginner snowboarding was a bit uncomfortable. Last weekend was spent yomping around Snowdon including some scrambling and that was fine. Still can't sit completely in my heals


If you are Midlands based I'd recommend the Sports Injury Rehab guys at Lilleshall ( http://www.lilleshall.com ) who have a lot of experiance fixing PFA footballers coming back from ACL ops. Better still thay are about to move into their swanky new building that's going up there. The cost is £35 per session and I'm doing a session every 5 weeks or so which keeps it affordable. In return I'm given a list of drills to do at home and an assessment of where I am in the recovery.

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UPDATE - 7 months.

So the moment of truth came last week in Tignes on the PSB. I originally booked expecting some nice sunshine and easy piste skiing on the Glacier. Instead it snowed constantly except for the sole sunny day on Thursday. Despite promising the physio to take it easy with no off piste & no bumps it was impossible to resist. Actually given the number of people on piste I reckon the off piste was probably safer wink

To compensate I tended not to ski much after Lunch and the knee held up very well. By then there was generally some mild soreness but it's hard to say if some of that wasn't psychological. I tended to feel more tired than usual but presumably I've lost some of my usually fitness over the Summer. I was always conscious that this was the first week back and backed out of stuff I'd usually have gone for.

By day five I was probably back to skiing 80% of normal but scored a couple of epic powder lines and some good speed on piste. Fingers crossed I'll regain the rest over the next couple of trips. Mostly it's a question of confidence. snowHead



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Update - Month 8.

Just back from my second full weeks skiing and all went OK. Fast on piste, steep off piste, soft bumps and some powder. I skied mostly all day and while the whole thing wasn't discomfort free, it was fine while actually skiing and the bad one didn't hurt any more than the good one !

I also had a day on a snowboard. Rubbish hire kit aside it was all good. My main concern was riding the lifts as the operated knee is my leading leg. Having a few kgs of board swinging around didn't seem too appealing but in the end it felt fine. With hindsight I'm not sure I've heard of knee damage for boarders while on lifts.

The next step for me will be a return to technical training and\or GS race training. In my mind I don't feel quite ready for that right now but I'd think that would be reasonable by the end of the season.

I injured the knee on a off piste week last March and at the time thought it would be doubtful that I'd be there this year. As it happens I'd have no hesitation booking up and skiing the same lines again.

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Update - Month 10.

My Surgeon discharged me today after the final check up. He suggested continuing to build strength in the 'bad' leg until it's as strong as the old one and told me not to damage it again !

I was going to book into the physio one last time in the Spring so I'll be sure to do this and get them to measure the respective strength of both legs on their fancy machine. I suspect there will be nothing in it despite the difference in bulk between them but that they both would benefit from some more work.

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1 year update (or there abouts).

Just back from a run out on the motorbike which is probably the final 'test' for the repaired knee. Pre Winter I lacked enough flex to be able to properly place my foot on the footrest and moving around on the bike was hard, partly due to the lack of flex but also due to lack of strength. It's a 250 super sports bike so requires a certain amount of input to get the best from it.

Todays short ride was perfect. As much (or more) flex as the 'good' leg, no probs moving around on the bike and I'd be confident to get back on track and chase lap times.

The last couple of days the knee has been pretty sore down the out side of the knee while walking, but I've been back to working it at the behest of my physio. Hopefully a case of no pain, no gain....

Chamonix Coaching. Winter 2013.

This season has seen me helping a skier spending the season in Chamonix. As I've been based in the UK this year we used the power of the Internet to facilitate the process, communicating by email.

We skied together at the start of the process which gave a useful starting reference from which to progress. In this instance ongoing video wasn't available so the skier provided their own 'feedback' in response to tasks and questions from me.

The nature of our communication dictated that I needed an alternative approach to that used when working with a skier face to face on snow to get the best outcome. After some consideration I decided that with the skier to help develop their internal feedback skills so they could more accurately assess their own skiing from the feelings they felt. Later we moved on to investigate the steering inputs, line & tactics needed to to ski a given slope.

Practically, this tended to involve setting a task on easy runs along with some questions. On completing the task the skier would come back with the answers and we'd discuss the result via email. If other skiing issues had come up we'd address those and from there the next task could be agreed and the process repeated.

At the end of the season we skied together again and much progress had been made. So much so that we spent most of the time was spent hitting the off piste up on the Grand Montets

The process has proved both interesting and thought provoking but most importantly successful. It also perhaps highlights some of the differences between Coaching and Instruction.

A quick edit of the footage shot during my walk up The Caradoc during February 2013's snowfall in Shropshire.

Caer Caradoc \ The Lawley nr Church Stretton.

The overnight forecast had hinted that there would be more snow towards South Shropshire so I decided to hear over to Church Stretton in the hope that some of the gullies on leeward side of Caer Caradoc might have filled in.



It's pretty straight forward to check the gullies using field glasses from the A49 but it didn't look good. However The Lawley had possibilities so I parked up on the road and had a quick look up the access path for the hill.



The ground looked a bit bare compared to previous years but the windward side of Caradoc hinted that snow had filled in some of the shallow depressions offering the possibility of some skiable lines.



On walking up it was obvious that the ridge line had caught some drifting snow and the locals were already testing the snow pack stability with kids & sledges. After checking the gullies again from the top (very bare) I skied the ridge line to the half way mark and traversed across to get at the more tempting lines where the snow had filled in lower down.



These gave some nice skiing in comparison to the ridge in heavy snow, ended prematurely by the fence.

A traverse & walk got me back to the car which I only just managed to extract from where I'd parked. It was still early afternoon so I thought I'd try the Lawley and have a look see. I'd forgotten how much hard it is to walk up with all the kit and the Lawley's taunting with false summit after false summit.



The lines by Peter(?) a Snow Boarder I met and myself. Not the easiest skiing in the world !!! A hard frost and a few more inches and it would be perfect...

After the recent snow fall I couldn't resist hiking up our local 'Hill'. As luck would have it snow had fallen overnight to give a couple of inches of powder to ski in. Unusually condition allowed skiing to the bottom (give or take a few sections) and a vertical descent of 250m. Not bad for Shropshire





Photo's of the weekends trip to The Lawley and Caer Caradoc to follow.

I came across this really useful site (via Uncle Dave's Sk Tours on Facebook) which gives on-line access to Swiss topographical maps.

Good from planning routes or deciding which map you need to buy. The site includes some useful tools and includes the North side of the Aosta Valley including the Monte Roasa and Courmayeur areas.





http://map.schweizmobil.ch/?lang=en

I came across the video below from the Canadian Freestyle coaching team. There are some excellent (and simple) elements to practice outside of the bumps which will help you when you get in them.

I'd also add that if you want to get good at bumps, learn to love the bumps !

Canadian Mogul Skiing // English from Canadian Freestyle Ski.

I'm am organising an informal meet up for some pre season Beeper Practice.

The 'plan' is to meet up at the Telford ski slope for some informal avalanche transceiver search practice. Please join the facebook group here I'll keep it updated as the details are confirmed.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/179085875549628/ (search beeper practice)

for none 'facebookers' drop me an email or leave a comment here.

DATE CONFIRMED:

Sunday 4th November, Telford Ski and Snowboard Centre, TF7 5DZ.

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The beeper practice went really well and we'll do it again next year. Be sure to join the facebook group or watch this blog for more details.

I came across this sire the other day which makes observation and analysis of ski (or other sports) video much easier than the other on-line video hosting tools :-

http://www.sprongo.com/


The site provides lots of useful features including slow motion, compare videos side by side and the ability to add annotations.

Uploaded video's can be public or shared among group members giving Coaches the opportunity to work remotely with clients.

I'm having a sort out so my Whitedot Directors are for sale.

These are last winters 188cm model, purchased direct from the manufacturer and have had 10 days skiing on them. They are drilled for Marker Barons which I intend to keep.

I used them last year as my off piste\powder ski, but did manage to find a few rocks hence they have had some base repairs.

As an off piste powder they are just the job, working nicely on steeps and in the trees.


Price, Skis only: £295 + £10 shipping if required. (Currently retailing at over £475 in the UK).

Please Email me for details & photo's.

Bad times. On the 4th afternoon of my last trip out I managed to snap my ACL while skiing an off piste gully. I'll cover the circumstances of the ACL injury and try and draw on any lessons in another entry but suffice to say I felt it go before I'd actually fallen.

In this blog entry I've jotted the lessons I learned and some of the choices I made while going through the NHS system. I just had my ACL reconstruction, 7 weeks after the initial injury.

1. DO try and protect your knee as you fall. I felt a 'pop' trying to recover a situation and immediately knew something was wrong. I let myself fall and did my best to protect the bad leg, trying to reduce any extra damage to the knee. After the fall there wasn't a lot of discomfort and I was able to ski out across an untracked powder field and an easy piste to a lift. This is not recommended due to the extra damage you might do to your knee.

2. DO go to the local medical centre for a diagnosis. The local doctor confirmed I had an ACL rupture and did an x-ray. The 99 euro was money well spent as it gave me a confirmed diagnosis with which to enter the NHS system. The also doctor prescribed a brace, crutches, paracetamol and aspirin from the local pharmacy. 250 Euro to cover this lot was less good value !

3. DO ensure the doctor gives you an 'Fit to Fly' letter. Without it you may not be allowed on the airplane when you hobble up on crutches. It's also worth prompting your holiday rep to inform the airline in advance that you may need to keep the leg elevated. I didn't do this and there was a difficult moment at check in when I thought I would not be allowed to board.

4. IMPORTANT - DO proceed to directly A&E at your local hospital on your return to the UK but DON'T be disappointed if you don't see anyone on the day. Hand over the documents from your resort doctor and let them know you have a CONFIRMED ACL rupture. If they don't treat you on the day ensure they book you into the appropriate 'Fracture clinic' at the hospital. This saves you going through the referral process via your GP and will save several weeks and remove any ambiguity regarding your injury.

5. DO ask to see the main consultant at the clinic even if it means waiting longer. A ruptured ACL will not show on an X-Ray and you will need an MRI scan to confirm the diagnosis. Let them know how important skiing is to you and how motivated you are to ski and be active again.

6. DO ask if there any any MRI cancellations on the day which you could take. My consultant kindly asked the hospital scanning department if there were any cancellations and as a result I had my scan that morning. If not, many people choose to get a private scan done but trying to score a cancellation will save you several hundred pounds and save weeks from the process.

7. The final step is to see the specialist knee consultant. Before any sensible decisions can be made the MRI results will need to be available. I was given 3 choices and I had to decide right then: A Physio program and see how it goes, Op to investigate with a view to making an ACL reconstruction decision later, or an investigation plus an immediate repair as required on the day leaving it to the surgeon to make his best decision. It made sense to me to choose the 3rd option, check and fix on the day.

8. DO be flexible. If you choose surgery your surgeon may operate at 2 or 3 hospitals. Let him know if you are flexible as to where you have the operation and this reduce your waiting time. I had mine done in via the NHS in a private hospital which was 10 miles further away than our main NHS facility.

Good Luck !

The third week of March was again spent free skiing in Le Monetier les Bains with the Snowheads off piste week. True to form it started snowing on the first day and we scored several days of fresh powder. My 'bobble hat' cam recorded a few runs, both outside of the main ski area but it goes to show that a little walk pays dividends.



^^ Access to the couloir required a bit of walking, scrambling and climbing taking perhaps an hour. Well worth it in the end. The couloir was in pleasantly steep, in good condition and opened to a lovely powder field. Skip to about 3 min to skip the walk in.








^^ This side valley is the section that the couloir joins. We stuck lucky finding it untracked. The exit is through a forest offering some nice tree skiing.

Half term saw me working in the high Pyrenees, guiding groups in Baqueira Beret. The first couple of days were blue sky, but very cold and were followed by 3 days of snow. Overall I estimate that we had around 1m which gave ridiculous amounts of 'powder'. Here's a quick video shot on the first clear day after the storm. Typically it was the day we had to pack up early and head for home

A short video shot last Friday on the Wrekin.

Inspired by my 'Shropshire Skiing' on Friday afternoon I was minded to see how conditions were in Wales for a trip the following day.

I'd already scoped our the Berwyns for possible skiing opportunities but in the end I was swayed by reports of 'powder' on the Breacons and Pen-y-fan.

Arriving in the car park off the A470 at around 11.30 I muck about trying to find a parking spot that I'd be able to exit from should the snow start to come down. Once sorted I kitted up and checked the OS map. The tops were in cloud, a shame as on the drive down the Breacon Beacons looked fantastic in the morning sun.



As luck would have it I bumped into Mike from the Snowheads forum and he kindly offered to walk up again. He'd been to the top for an hour waiting for the weather to clear with no luck. As we headed up the snow started to fall and the wind increase. By the time we hit the 600m level it was howling a blizzard.



With the weather closing in and visibility reducing we decided that hiking to the top wasn't going to be very rewarding, so we kitted up for an easy slide back to the car park. By this time the path had filled in but the tufty grass was poking through in places. Mike lead the way cutting high across the slope, down the valley to get a more direct run to the bridge.

This was very different kind of skiing, requiring patience and softness with the ski's. Push too hard and you break through into the grass and muck causing the ski's to slow rapidly, but choose an good line, avoid the odd rock and don't rush things its all good.



It's a shame the Breacons were not more welcoming as there is definitely potential. Fingers crossed for a Blue Sky powder day next time...

The Snowheads forum thread for all who wish to get involved is here